Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Nitzavim
To Forgive and Forget?
Do confession and repentance necessarily bring atonement in their wake? In Parashat Nitzavim, Hashem implies that they do, promising that if we return to Him, He will return to us, have mercy, and return the people from exile. Yet, in the very next chapter, Devarim 31:17-18, the Torah describes how the people's confession of their sins will lead, not to forgiveness, but rather redoubled punishment! How is it that Hashem rejects the nation's repentance?
- While Ramban suggests that the people's repentance will not be sincere, R. Avraham Saba1 asserts that the text does not really mean that Hashem continued to punish them. Do these reinterpretations conform to the simple meaning of the verses? What support can you bring for either position? What marks repentance as sincere or insincere?
- Ralbag prefers to maintain the literal reading of the text, and claims that the assumption that repentance always averts punishment is simply wrong. Do you find this claim theologically troubling? Why or why not? For elaboration, see Repentance Rejected.
It is Not in Heaven
In Devarim 30, Moshe tells the nation: "this commandment which I command you today... It is not in the heavens, saying, Who will go up for us to the heavens and take it for us and make us hear it and we will do it... For the thing is very near to you, in your mouth and your heart to do it." The subject of this verse is ambiguous. Which commandment is Moshe saying is so easily available and attainable?
- Rashi suggests that the verse refers not to one specific mitzvah, but to the Torah in general. R"Y Albo, in contrast, maintains that the verse is speaking of the individual commandment to repent, while others posit that it refers to the commandment to love Hashem.
- Use a concordance to explore the usage of the term "הַמִּצְוָה" in Sefer Devarim. Which approach do your findings support? What does the context of the chapter suggest?
- According to each position, what is Moshe's message? Is it really true that it is easy to observe all of Torah, or even just to repent or love Hashem? What else might the phrase "it is not in the heavens" teach? See It is Not in the Heavens.
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For more, see: Parashat Nitzavim Topics.